Time Enough for Drums

by Ann Rinaldi

(First published by Troll Communications on March 28, 1986)

Oh, baby! American Revolution! I love this shizz so hard guys, I don’t know that all of my nerding out could even convey the full breadth of my fascination with it. It’s just an amazing time to me. So when I was wandering around Goodreads, I happened upon some Ann Rinaldi books, and I soon discovered TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS, after it was strongly recommended to me by Tara from Hobbitses. I couldn’t get it from my library fast enough. Because friends? This book takes place in NEW JERSEY. WHERE I LIVE. It is set in places that still exist that I know. The county where I live is ON THE MAP. Yes, IT HAS A MAP. I can’t even right now. Basically, I knew I had to read it ASAP.

Of course, there’s other things about TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS that are appealing to me. Jem, the main character, is plucky, trouble-making, and rebellious. She rarely does what she is supposed to do, and when she does, guys, she effing complains about it. This especially applies to her lessons with her Tory teacher, John. He’s a hottie, but an infuriating one for Jem. Most likely this is because Jem, her brothers, and her family are all Patriots who support US independence. John, a Brit, does not. Jem is always suspicious of why her parents tolerate him in their Trenton, NJ, home and why her brother, Daniel, is such good friends with him. But she feels what she feels, and she acts on those feelings. She’s a good, if sometimes foolish, character. After a short while, I was like, “SERIOUSLY, JEM?! You have NO IDEA what John is doing in your parent’s Patriot house?”

John was great character, too. He’s a good foil for Jem. As their relationship progressed, it seemed to happen quickly and was a little melodramatic sometimes, but I enjoyed it. The whole book was a little melodramatic on occasion, so the tone was consistent. Plus, while it seemed like cray drama to me, it was probably closer to the truth of the way things were for people living in Trenton in 1776 than anything else, and I can appreciate that. Some awful things happen to Jem’s family, and I felt for them all.

There was one aspect of the story that I wish had gotten a little more meat, and that was Jem’s uncle, whose name I cannot remember right now, who was of Native American heritage. (Her grandfather spent time during the French and Indian War with an Indian tribe, and had a baby with one of the women.) He shows up randomly, and Jem clearly has a fondness for him, but I couldn’t quite figure out what he was doing there. I would have liked more of him, or none at all.

Overall, there was one overarching thing I noticed while reading TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS. If you notice the publication date up top there, this book was released 26 years ago. It was clear from early on how much the quality of YA books has improved since then. I’m not saying that TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS is badly written. Not at all. I DEVOURED it. But it almost seemed to be making an assumption about the reader that YA books can’t really get away with anymore, and that is that young people can’t process involved plots, intricate stories, long books with solid world-building and foundations, etc. Things in TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS happen quickly, with months at a time being passed over. The book starts in 1776, but ends at Yorktown, where the British surrendered, which is in 1781. That’s a lot of time to cover in one, 250-page book. Hopefully you guys will read Ann Rinaldi‘s book soon and see what I mean. TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS was good, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much more gripping and emotionally fraught it would be if Ann Rinaldi had written it today, with today’s standards for young people’s literature.

The historical fiction nut in me enjoyed TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS but thought it could have been a teensy bit better. The Jersey girl in me DIED from awesome overload. The American Revolution nerd in me was fascinated as usual by the setting. The relationship between John and Jem was nice, but not nearly as swoony as relationships in YA are now. There are certainly lots of things to enjoy in Ann Rinaldi‘s book, though, and I’ll be sure to read some more of her work. She IS a Jersey girl herself, you know. Gotta show some hometown love.

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Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

So you know what I’ve decided, friends? First of all, let me apologize for being a slacker with this month’s post. Been busy around here this past week! But that time also allowed me to come to grips with my ability to read three books a month for this awesome feature. So I’m knocking it down to two. THAT I can definitely do. Because I just had another month where I only reviewed ONE BOOK, to my everlasting shame, although it was a good one: THE EXILED QUEEN by Cinda Williams Chima. I suck a little bit, guys. But I can do two!! I CAN do it, and June will be the month.

TIME ENOUGH FOR DRUMS sounds so much right up my alley, I can’t even tell you. And SHADE is a holdover that I now own and therefore have no excuse to not read. These books are going DOWN.

The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms #2)

by Cinda Williams Chima

(First published September 28, 2010 by Hyperion)

THE EXILED QUEEN by Cinda Williams Chima is some FINE fantasy, guys. I just recently read the first book in the Seven Realms series, THE DEMON KING, and loved it, so I wasn’t really surprised at all to find myself LOVING the second book just as much. Maybe more. In fact, I loved THE EXILED QUEEN so much that I could barely wait longer than a few hours before cracking open my ARC of the third book, THE GRAY WOLF THRONE, which I’ve also just finished. I am devouring this series, guys. It’s LEGIT. I’m both glad that I’m finally reading it and irritated that that I put it off for so long.

So, let’s get started off with a little recap, shall we? (OBLIGATORY SPOILER WARNING FOR THE DEMON KING. Seriously. Mad spoilers upcoming.) At the end of THE DEMON KING, Han and Dancer are heading off to the wizard school at Oden’s Ford at the behest of the clans, who are paying for their schooling in return for the two of them “agreeing” to work for the clans in the future. Han has also just found out that he is a descendent of Alger Waterlow, the Demon King himself yo, and that the amulet he stole from the Bayars was Waterlow’s. BOOM. Big things.

Raisa is ALSO on her way to Oden’s Ford, all incognito style, to attend the military school there under the protection of her bff/maybe love/captain of her guard, Amon Byrne. She ran away the night of her nameday when Gavan Bayar tried to force her to marry his son, the tool Micah Bayar–forbidden though it may be for queens and wizards to marry–so that Micah might one day be king. SHADY BIZ, y’all, and Raisa gets the hell out of dodge before it can all go down. OH AND ALSO: Han still things Raisa is Rebecca, the girl he met in Ragmarket. Identity = MISTAKEN.

Now that that’s out of the way, THE EXILED QUEEN begins, as you might be able to tell, on a road trip. Well, two road trips, as Han and Raisa et al. make their way separately to Oden’s Ford. The first half or so of the book details both of their journeys, where some SHIZZ goes down. But as much as I LOVE road trips–and Han and Raisa’s are both action-filled and important–the beginning dragged just the teensiest bit in some parts (obviously NOT the parts where the aforementioned SHIZZ was going down). Raisa is dealing with her burgeoning feelings for Amon, who is forbidden from ever being with the queen now that he has taken the official oath to be the head of her guard. (That oath is NO JOKE. Amon experiences physical pain and the occasional seizure when the two of them make out. SAD FACE.) And Han and Dancer meet one of Han’s old crewmates on the road, where they all promptly step in a pile of you-know-what, but everyone eventually makes it to Oden’s Ford in one piece.

I can only guess that some of the slower parts in the first half of THE EXILED QUEEN serve to introduce us to some new areas of the Seven Realms and to also set some things in motion for down the line, and I can always get behind that, guys, slow or not. I LOVE a well-placed set-up, friends. LOVE IT.

It’s in Oden’s Ford where the bulk of the action in THE EXILED QUEEN takes place, though, and once we get there, the few slow moments from the first half dry up. Cinda Williams Chima really steps up the action and we see some great, emotional moments, juicy reveals, and awesome tension. Both of the political and romantic kinds. One of the things I love about the Seven Realms series is the way it melds both of those things to great effect. The politics are twisty and dangerous and multi-layered. The emotions are heightened and real. The romance is tense, dramatic, and fun, and the making out is HOT. But this series manages to make none of those things more important than the others. There’s GREAT balance, although I always personally find the scenes with Han and Raisa the most enjoyable. OBVS. They are SUCH great characters, with magnetic personalities and flaws, and they have the SPARXXX. I looooove the SPARXXX.

Guys, there’s lots that goes on in THE EXILED QUEEN by Cinda Williams Chima. I know I spoiled THE DEMON KING up top there, but I don’t want to spoil this book for you, obviously. Because even when we spend a solid half to two-thirds of the story in one place, THINGS are always happening, moving the story along, raising the stakes for Han and Raisa and their friends and enemies. Keeping everyone on their toes. And the end is basically awesome, raising the stakes AGAIN. I know that it’s going to have far-reaching ramifications, and I can’t wait to see where Cinda Williams Chima goes with everything. If you love great fantasy, you should not let this series linger too long on your shelves, guys. It’s a winner.

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Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Guys, I have consistently managed to underperform for this meme each month. I always pick three books, I always wind up reading LESS than three, and I always wind up switching one book for another all sneaky-like in the middle of the month. SIGH. BUT! I am definitely mining my pile, and that makes me crazy happy! In April, I reviewed I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOUby Ally Carter and…that’s it. I told you. UNDERPERFORMED. In fact, I had no idea I only reviewed this one book until just today. I could’ve SWORN there was another one. Alas. I WILL be better next month, guys. I SWEAR. (In my defense, AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES was checked out of my library for most of this month, so….)

THE EXILED QUEEN is chilling in a pile right now, waiting for me, Katherines is on hold at the library, and SHADE–because I’ve been hearing TONS of love for these books now that the third in this trilogy is out–is coming to me courtesy of le wallet because my library doesn’t have them (for shame!)

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls #1)

by Ally Carter

(First published April 6, 2006 by Hyperion)

I’ve been a fan of Ally Carter’s other series, Heist Society, for a little while now, mostly because I have a thing for thieves and professional criminals. There’s something SO EXCITING and dangerous and engaging about them. But I’ve also always loved spies–Alias was one of my favorite TV shows when it was on–for pretty much the same reasons. I think it’s amusing, actually, because both spies and thieves seem to exist outside of the law a little bit, in different ways, though. Or maybe it’s that they’re both trying to keep secrets that draws me to them. Whatever it is, I’d been wanting to read Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series for awhile, and this fabulous Rewind & Review meme gave me the opening I needed! THANK YOU, REWIND & REVIEW.

I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU was lots of fun, guys. Cammie Morgan is a student at the all-girls Gallagher Academy in Nowhereseville, Virginia. The residents of the small town think that Gallagher is a super-exclusive reform school for screw-up girls. What the townspeople DON’T know is that Gallagher is actually a major, highly secretive school for the training of spies. BOOM. Cammie’s mom is the director, and also a spy. Cammie’s education at Gallagher, which is ramping up now that she and her friends are old enough to start taking Covert Ops classes, as well as Gallagher’s secret front are put in jeopardy when Cammie meets a boy from town who strikes her fancy. Action and sekrets follow!

So the thing I loved the most about I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU is the hardcore spy stuff. The little snippets of crazy spy equipment that graduates and staff at Gallagher have invented or are in charge of, the pointers and things that Cammie and her friends learn in Covert Ops class, like how to find out things by looking through trash. All that nerdy, secret passageway, having dinner conversations in Farsi so that the students will be fluent in tons of CRAZY languages stuff just pushed all of my geek buttons. Maybe that sounds like a small thing to appreciate the most in Ally Carter’s book, but there you have it.

I don’t mean to give Cammie and the other characters short shrift, though. Because they’re awesome in their own ways. Cammie is smart and strong and wants to be able to experience a little bit of normal life. She sometimes was a little flat to me, but only sometimes. Josh, the love interest, is cute and sweet. It’s easy to see why Cammie is attracted to him. Not the swooniest guy, but adorable. And since we’re talking about Cammie and Josh, one of my constant gripes about Ally Carter’s books is the lack of kissing/serious swoonworthy moments. They just aren’t here, and I missed them a little bit in I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU.

The rest of the characters were great, too. I LOVED Bex and Liz, Cammie’s best friends. And Macey, I can already tell, is going to be awesome. I loved all their personalities and their strengths. They all complement each other so well. The Covert Ops teacher is a total fox who is definitely keeping some awesome secrets that I can’t wait to hear about. The supporting characters in I’D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU, BUT THEN I’D HAVE TO KILL YOU were all great.

Ally Carter’s first Gallagher Girls book was a fun, quick, really enjoyable story about a young spy who just wants to have a normal relationship with a cute boy. Alas, spies can’t seem to do anything normal, as evidenced by the fact that Cammie and her friends turn her dates with Josh into Covert Ops assignments. To be honest, this was clever for sure, but it sometimes made Cammie and Josh’s relationship seem a little dry. (You know, when they call him The Subject and her The Operative. Not so many butterflies.) But there’s some really great stuff coming up, I think. The ending was action-packed, and it opened LOTS of cans of worms, so I know that the drama isn’t going to let up! Woot!

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Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

I’m LOVING this meme, friends. Although, the last two months, I’ve only managed to read one of my three proposed titles each, and I keep switching things out. March was just such a month, guys. AND I still haven’t managed to read three books for this meme in one month. But I read some Rewind & Review books last month, and I’m REALLY looking forward to the ones I’ve picked for THIS month. YES I have picked three, and YES I WILL READ THEM ALL. Check out my reviews for THE DEMON KING and LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES, and then oooh and ahhhh over April’s selections below (one should look familiar)!

The Demon King (Seven Realms #1)

by Cinda Williams Chima

(First published November 19, 2009 by Disney-Hyperion)

Yo, the fact that I hadn’t yet read Cinda Williams Chima’s THE DEMON KING until now is egregious, guys. A serious misstep on my part. Why this happened is beyond me. I knew about the Seven Realms series; I knew it was high fantasy with magic, politics, and intrigue; I knew that lots of people thought it was excellent. I’d even checked it out of my library once before and somehow got distracted by other things. Sometimes, I think I just need to be in the right mood to read certain books, and that includes my beloved high fantasies. THANKFULLY, I was finally in the mood to read THE DEMON KING because guys? IT’S LEGIT, and I can’t wait to read further in this series.

So, THE DEMONG KING by Cinda Williams Chima has lots of things going for it: it’s got magic, a repressed princess, a thief trying to reform, a queen not acting like herself, and a 1,000-year-old truce between wizards and the clans–a Native American-esque race who control and disseminate magic–borne out of the actions of an ancient queen named Hanalea, and the most powerful wizard ever to live, the Demon King. This truce is really the center of the story because it’s losing its footing among the wizard elite, and their efforts to subvert the peace that helps contain their magic loom HUGELY over the whole story.

Of course, the politics of THE DEMON KING wouldn’t mean much if we didn’t have such AWESOME characters flesh out the rest of the story. Cinda Williams Chima gives us well-rounded, complex, funny, bright characters in Princess Raisa and Han Alister. Raisa is confident, strong, opinionated, and feeling a little rebellious. There are times when she might come off as entitled and spoiled, but she has so many redeeming qualities. Raisa is KICK-ASS, friends, and she’s really coming into her own by the end of this book. She’s got BIG THINGS coming, I can feel it!

Han Alister is, to me, almost instantly lovable. He’s got rough edges and a sketchy past, but his motives are sweet and understandable and his struggles with a life of crime on the streets lend to his complexity. But YO, Han seriously CHARMED the pants off of me (and, I feel like, LOTS of girls in Fellsmarch, too. Honestly? I couldn’t blame a single one of them) and I LOVED his story. He’s smart and sneaky and he’s got that unassuming confidence about him that’s really magnetic.

Both Han and Raisa have spent lots of time with the clans and it’s clear that they both prefer the more carefree, natural environment there. Of course, they’ve never encountered each other there. In fact, although I’m assuming that Han and Raisa are the OTP of this series, their interactions are limited in THE DEMON KING, and Cinda Williams Chima throws a further wrench in their interactions by giving Raisa an alias at certain times so that Han winds up having no idea who she really is. They’re definitely feeling the little electric shocks of each other, though, if you know what I mean. MOAR OF THEM, PLEASE.

Don’t worry, though, there’s some kissy face. It just happens to be between the two leads and other people, which I appreciate. Han has clearly gotten some before, and he has a nice little relationship with a girl from one of the clans. And I appreciate very much that Raisa enjoys kissing boys and is looking forward to doing it more often. She’s unashamed of her burgeoning desire for making out and being intimate. (Unfortunately, she mostly kisses the douchebag, Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, who is the resident BAD GUY.) She does get some nice relationship complexity with her old friend Amon Byrne, though, who is a member of the Queen’s Guard and is absolutely being set up as the “nice guy” to Han’s “trouble maker” in le triangle.

All in all, the action and the plotting and ALL THE LIES in THE DEMON KING by Cinda Williams Chima make for one gripping tale. There’s all kinds of juicy stuff going, y’all! Back-stabbing, SEKRETS, death, mystery, sneaky political machinations, confusing relationships, magical shenanigans, and a big reveal at the end, which I did kind of puzzle out early, to be honest. But that did NOTHING to dampen my LOVE of this story or the people in it, nor did it make me any LESS eager to get my grabby hands on the rest of the series. Huzzah for great fantasy!! HUZZAH!

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Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Lips Touch: Three Times

by Laini Taylor

(First published October 1, 2009 by Scholastic)

Oh, Laini. I know I’ve said this before, but I think I just might have to say it again: You’re magical. The words you write are so pretty and your stories are imaginative, fantastical, and emotional and I love them! Even when they’re short. And guys? The stories in LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES all lived up to my expectations of Laini Taylor’s writing and her ability to evoke FEELINGS in her readers. Yay!

LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES is a collection of three novellas that all feature some important turn of events involving a kiss (hence the “lips touching” part). Obviously, this is fantastic. But I actually really enjoyed the fact that Laini Taylor is so good at creating the whole picture of a story that the kisses–to varying degrees–don’t overshadow anything. In fact, the elements from these stories that I recall with greatest clarity and that I enjoyed the most aren’t necessarily the kisses at all. So on that note, into the breech!

The first story in this collection is called “Goblin Fruit,” and it’s good. It’s the shortest of the three, and probably on the whole, my least favorite, although that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Not so. It’s about a young girl named Kizzy who’s family is majorly superstitious. They believe in the old ways, which involves lots of things but most important for this story is their belief in goblins, and the fact that the only way a goblin can steal a girl’s soul is for her to give it up willingly in a kiss. Perhaps you might be able to determine where this story goes without me saying anything else. It’s a good story, though, and I enjoyed reading about Kizzy’s family’s old-world superstitions.

The second story in LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by Laini Taylor is called “Spicy Little Curses” and it takes place in post-WWI British India. Seriously, can we have more of this please?! The setting is lush and gorgeous and, as in “Goblin Fruit,” this story relies heavily on beliefs and superstitions. It’s about an old woman who is an ambassador to hell who must deal with a demon to save the lives of children on Earth (the demon saves the kiddos and she gives him the name of a baddie instead). One time, though, the old woman makes a deal with the demon to save a bunch of children and in return she must curse the daughter of a British diplomat. It’s BAD. Obviously, it also involves a kiss, but that comes later. This story was gorgeous and perfectly contained; I didn’t feel like anything was missing when it was finished. There was drama and love and, OF COURSE, elegant writing. SO PRETTY.

At this point, I’m going to interrupt MY little flow here to say that I thought LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by Laini Taylor had a flow, too, and it went something like this: The first story–good, short, and the lightest in tone of the three; the second story–better, longer, and darker, what with the terms of the curse being what they were; the third story–the BEST and the LONGEST and the darkest, as well. In my opinion, of course, in terms of the “good, better, best” thing.

So, now you know that I thought the third story, “Hatchling” was the best and it was definitely my favorite. You guys, I would read a whole book about this incredibly vivid, imaginative world with a totally unique mythology, and I think it definitely benefited from getting the most air time, as it were. But for real: “Hatchling” was so gorgeous, so fraught, and so absorbing that I wanted it to keep going. It MADE the entire book, for me.

“Hatchling” is about a young girl, Esme, and her mother, Mab (NOT the faerie queen), who find themselves on the run from these wolves after Esme wakes up one morning with one of her brown eyes blue. The wolves serve the Druj queen (the Druj are these soulless, immortal…I don’t even know what to call them, except to say that they aren’t vampires. Just plain demons, perhaps?), and she is a BEYOTCH. Which is fun to read, obviously. Shenanigans ensue. We get LOTS of back story about Mab, who spent some time with the Queen in her youth. These parts were STUNNING, guys. The descriptions of life in the Queen’s citadel were stark and beautiful, and I LOVED the mythology. And the way this whole story comes together I thought was genius, and so satisfying. *Sigh*. Esme was a great character, and I REALLY loved Mihai, this conflicted, unique Druj with a connection to the Queen. This one story is reason enough to pick up LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES, guys. It’s seriously LEGIT.

Aside from the gorgeous writing and the FEELINGS and the creative world-building, this book has some absolutely stunning, beautiful, jaw-dropping images by Jim Di Bartolo. Guys, these pictures are out of this world. There are several panels that accompany each story and they’re all exceptional. It almost makes me wish that Laini Taylor had teamed up with her husband to write LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES as a graphic novel. They were AMAZING.

So, final assessment: I really enjoyed LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES. The stories were all unique, emotional, gorgeously written urban fantasies that got steadily better as the book progressed. As always, Laini Taylor spins some KILLER yarns, friends. If she hadn’t become one of my instant-read authors after I finished DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, Laini Taylor would certainly be one now. I can’t wait to read ALL OF HER WORDS.

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Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

We’re on to month #2 of this awesome meme, friends, and I can’t wait to keep on keepin’ on! In case you missed my Rewind and Review books from February, you can check out my reviews of VAMPIRE ACADEMY and THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTFUL KING by clicking on the links!

Alas, I had wanted to review a THIRD book in February that I didn’t get to (curse you, shortest month of the year!), so it got bumped to March. THE DEMON KING IS HAPPENING. Plus two more. I WILL read three books a month!

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)

by Richelle Mead

(First published August 16, 2007 by Razorbill)

I think one of the reasons that I hesitated to read VAMPIRE ACADEMY is because the Twilight series managed to burn me out on vampires, and the backlash from those books made me wary of other vampy books. So I kept putting these books off because I felt like it would just be reading Twilight all over again. This turned out to be a great lesson in not making assumptions. YOU WERE SO WRONG, AMY. In my opinion, now that I’ve read books from both series, the Vampire Academy series is better for a lot of reasons, and I’m mad at myself that I waited this long to jump in. Also, NOT becoming addicted to these books is as impossible as, like, time travel. THEY ARE BOOK CRACK AND I LOVE THEM. Ahem. So. Let’s discuss, shall we?

There were a few things that I noticed right away about VAMPIRE ACADEMY that I really appreciated, and one is that the world is sophisticated. There’s no silly, cheesy vampires here. The way the different breeds of vampires exist is complex and dangerous and full of drama. I’m digging the impending political/ideological crisis vibe that’s going on between the various Moroi and their dhampirs, and the Strigoi seem badass and creepy. Also, I love me a good rebellion, y’all, and the seeds of one are being sown.

The characters are also FANTASTIC, and are one of my favorite things about VAMPIRE ACADEMY. Generally speaking, I always love it when teens in books act in a realistic way. The kids at St. Vlad’s curse, have sex, get into trouble, and drink. That always gets a thumbs up from me. And the secondary characters are fleshed out and have great personalities. I loved Lissa and Christian, and Mia is deliciously malicious.

But really, the centerpiece is Rose, and she’s a BAMF. Rose is AWESOME, and I think a kind of rarer character in YA in that she isn’t your typical wallflower kind of girl. She’s sassy, impulsive, brash, and confident. When it comes to Lissa, her best friend with whom she shares a very rare, almost psychic bond, she’s fiercely loyal and determined to protect her at any cost. But let me just say that it was refreshing to read about a character who was both aware and unashamed of her physicality. She likes hooking up and flirting and flaunting what she’s got, and I LOVED it. Granted, she’s unashamed of her body because it sounds like she’s basically a 10, but the idea still applies. I loved her confidence. She totally jumps off the page with her fieriness, and I felt all of her feelings almost right away. I LOVE THIS.

Obviously another cornerstone of not only this book but the series itself is the relationship between Rose and Dimitri, her mentor and fellow dhampir. Their relationship has the potential to be tricky, but in the end, I thought it was AWESOME. I recall reading something about how some readers perceived their relationship as weird and inappropriate because Dimitri is 7 years older than Rose and basically, although not technically, her teacher. And those things are true, and they would have bothered me to no end if they had gone unaddressed. But they didn’t. In fact, I think those things are handled pretty well here. Their age difference–both in literal number and in emotional maturity–is a HUGE sticking point in their being together. Don’t mistake me: they have CRAZY chemistry, and a hot little interlude, but their chemistry is something they struggle with, and their interlude has a catch. I’m totally rooting for them.

Guys, I can’t say enough about how glad I am that you all lit a fire under my ass to get me to read these books IMMEDIATELY. Because now that I started them, I literally can’t stop (I’m reading book 3, SHADOW KISS, right now. I literally couldn’t wait long enough to write my review of the first book before I plowed through the second and half of the third). I really can’t think of many negative things about these books: they’re engaging, fun, humorous, fraught with drama and danger, have an interesting mythology, and characters who are unique and fabulous. Are they the most thought-provoking or emotional books I’ve ever read? No, but they’re certainly some of the most flat-out enjoyable. They give vampire books a good name. Now, pardon me, but I must dash. I seriously had to force myself to stop reading these books to write this review. HOLLA!

Rewind & Review is an AMAZING new meme hosted jointly by two fabulous ladies, Ginger from Greads! and Lisa from Lisa Is Busy Nerding. This meme is all about mining your TBR piles and finding some long-lost gems (from 2010 or earlier) that you meant to read and somehow passed over. I KNOW, but it happens. Each month, each participant picks a few oldies but hopefully goodies to read, reviews ’em, and spreads the word. Huzzah!

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